Brand new Marlin 795 issues

[Bryan16]

I picked up a pair of 795's for Christmas (one for my brother and one for myself) and we took them out yesterday. My first try with the gun resulted in a FTE. This happened numerous times and I was also getting FTF's. I also noticed the action did not stay open after the mag was empty (only once in a while this occurred). My brother's rifle was fine until about 200 rounds, then he started having similar issues. We did not clean them prior to our outing. We were using Federal bulk pack.

Any ideas why a new weapon would have so many issues? Are they not oiled properly from the factory? We stripped them down and cleaned/oiled them well but have not had a chance to test them again. I just found it odd that my gun was having so many issues from the start while my brother's was fine until it started getting dirty.

Any help would be appreciated!

[trob]

You should have done the cleaning before the first shooting. I would imagine your problems are fixed now.

The oil/grease from factories wits on rifles for a long time and can cause cycling issues (either turns "gummy" or dries to a crusty film). I completely blew out everything with gun scrubber and re-oiled my girlfriends 795 when i bought it for her and it has never missed a beat.

[cmth]

.22's are the most finnicky guns when it comes to ammo. My model 60 runs Federal bulk pack flawlessly, but others have nothing but problems with it. Buy a couple different brands of ammo and see what works best, and then only buy that. Definitely give the rifles a thorough cleaning and lube. Check the magazines and see if it's one of the mags and not the others that is not holding the bolt open. If the mag is bad, replace the follower, and then the spring. That should fix any problems with the bolt hold open feature.

[cmth]

I should also add that magazines are the number one cause of feeding issues as well. Marlins are not very finely finished guns, which is why they are cheap. The barrel and bolt are the only machined parts on the gun. Give the gun about 500-1000 rounds to thoroughly break in and it should work out most of the issues.

[afro]

You should always clean a gun before shooting it. There is likely gummed up oil or metal shavings in the action.

[Air]

You should always clean a gun before shooting it. There is likely gummed up oil or metal shavings in the action.

Perzactly. Complete field strip and cleaning prior to shooting any new firearm. Period.


My 795 has problems with Federal American Eagle, I have had a few failures to fire and extract using it. Otherwise, it has been most excellent. Even better than my Browning SA-22 which was 5 times the price.

[NorcalGSG]

I did the same thing before shooting- take off stock, trigger group, clean out well with brush/break free, or whatever gun oil you use. You will most likely find leftover aluminum filings in the action from manufacturing. After that, reassemble and try CCI mini-mags. This is what worked for me. Good luck! You'll love the Marlin once you get it cleaned up.

[Bryan16]

Excellent info and reassurance. Thank you to all who responded! I will report back next time after the range!

I used to have a model 60 that I never cleaned and it never had one problem after 1,000's of rounds lol.

[KevMorris]

It's because you didn't clean them. The exact same thing happened to me, because when I took my new 795 out for it's first shooting, I didn't clean it.

After I gave it a good cleaning (and there was lots of gunk in it), it's fired great ever since.

[bombadillo]

Clean it, run it wet and proceed to shoot. Let it get broken in first and come back after about 3k rounds. Mine is a great shooting little rifle. I have 3 marlin .22lr's and they're all great. My cheapest one was $55 bucks at a gun show for a broken marlin 60. I shoot the crap out of it and its my best shooting gun. 1 hole groups at 25 yards from a bench with a cheapo tasco 4x scope. Also, use some higher velocity rounds while breaking it in and watch for lead fouling if you're not using copper jacketed bullets.

[speeedracerr]

I used to have problems with my Marlin 795 until I polished the feed ramp with a dremel. Now... my rifle works flawless with no FTF and FTEs.

Well... that was with using Armscor .22 rounds, haven't tried anything else yet.

[Satex]

I have similar issues, here are my observations. It appears that the 795 does not like hollow-point ammunition. The same FTE issues came up with both Winchester and Armscor HP rounds. Earlier this week, I tried CCI and Fiocchi regular rounds and it cycled flawlessly. Today, I polished the feed ramp to determine if that is the culprit. Haven't had a chance to check it out yet.

[afro]

I've shot about 200 rounds of Federal AE hollow points and none had problems.

[ironhiide]

Also make sure to try about half a dozen or more different brands or loads. Most .22 rifles are finicky, especially before the action breaks-in.

[Crusader Matt]

I disassembled and cleaned my 795 before shooting it the first time. However it also failed to eject about one or two cartridges per magazine upon first firing. I was using Winchester SuperX HPs. I switched to Federal FMJs and not a jam since. Like others have said, its probably a feed ramp and/or hollow point issue. Hope that helps. Neat little rifle that feels like a BB gun. By the way anyone want a brick of Winchester SuperX? Just kidding.